Give a Moment to Feel
by Maige
Summary: Arthur's a man in his thirties with social and trust issues. He's accepted a life of nothingness, until a Canadian kitten breaks into his backyard. Het MapleTea. AU.


**Disclaimer:** I don't own Hetalia

I haven't written anything in a long while. Haven't been up to it, as my longing for drawing has spontaneously erupted and now I cannot stop drawing ponies. Yet, as I was finishing drawing Pipsqueak and Dinky Doo, I just got this urge to go with a MapleTea one-shot, right out of the blue...I believe this urge also came from the fact that my awesome roleplayer partner on DA keeps being nice enough to write wonderful MapleTea fics for me, and I really want to do the same for her. This is again going to be based on one of our roleplays.

So it's two in the morning, I have PewDiePie screaming hilariously in my ear, let's do this. All warnings apply, especially the one about an alternate universe.

* * *

Arthur Kirkland was living the bachelor's life, so to speak.

Almost.

He was quite the wealthy man, brimming in a massive fortune brought on by his Father's death; as the main Kirkland of the household passed away (with no objections, nary a tear to spare for the dead man) it was apparent through his will that among the many daughters and sons he had spawned over the years, Arthur was the only one who acquired the large sum that Mr. Kirkland had been brewing throughout his lifetime.

That was good. It meant that he could relax, meant that he didn't have to work day to day. He was now the owner of the business Mr. Kirkland owned, but he had others go in the job for him.

There was no way in Hell he was going to work in that company.

It was the largest cooperation in the world revolving around hybrids. Humanoids with cat-like qualities, including a set of ears and tail, that started showing up a few decades ago. They popped out of nowhere, suddenly wandering around the streets, and most of humanity immediately took them as a low class citizen, taking them in as pets and ignoring the fact that the hybrids still could think, feel, and go about like a normal human being.

Mr. Kirkland's company involved breeding, selling, and trading the hybrids...and frankly, Arthur found it disgusting.

He got one of his Father's houses too, and that was good as well, as it was an expansive, grand mansion that kept him comfortable. What was even better was that all of his brothers - at least, the ones that he lived with while he was growing up - hustled along back to Europe after their Dad passed on.

To add, he was in his early thirties yet physically looking and feeling not a day over twenty-five, he was perfectly healthy, moderately attractive (at least, the women and men he had brief affairs with during the last few years had said so; though he suspected it was because of his accent rather than his appearence) and was, again, rolling in such a sum of money one would think that he could do whatever he wanted, stab that old saying of 'you can't buy happiness' in the gut and use his cash to boost his endorphins.

This would have been the perfect life if it wasn't for the fact that he was lonely.

Arthur had companions, yes, but that was all they were. Companions. That was the only word he could think of to describe them; they weren't exactly friends, they were simply other living beings who he could talk to, whom he could be somewhat comfortable around. There were bar nights with a few of these people, but the time he ever saw them in between those occasions were few.

The lovers he had were usually gone within a few days.

Most of them were of the stereotypical gold digger kind anyhow, wanting nothing more from the Brit than to spend a little green on them. It wasn't a secret that Arthur was wealthy. And the few that were not there for that perhaps...always just seemed to leave him either way, normally departing with something that went along the lines of, "It's not me, it's you."

It all went downhill when one that Arthur truly felt he like he was in love with was caught screwing with some random man Arthur didn't know in the bathroom of the same bar he enjoyed going to. That pulled him deeper into his shell.

There were only two people Arthur could fully trust. Yao Wang and Kiku Honda... coincidentally the brothers of the girl who cheated on him.

Even them he didn't see them often.

And the more he stopped seeing people the more withdrawn Arthur was.

He spent his days inside the mansion, cleaning it out room from room (he absolutely refused to allow someone else to come in and clean for him), strolling its multiple halls, looking back on old times (these were the only times where Arthur ever felt old, when he was taking a stroll down nostalgia lane), reading books from his personal library, watching TV, drinking, and going outside to tend to his garden.

That became his usual routine day in and day out.

Eventually he stopped calling on his Asian friends and kept to his house.

He didn't except anything spectacular ever to happen. As the days drolled on the Brit was beginning to feel mentally old, contemplating on the fact that if he kept this up, doing nothing at all, he was going to croak early, as early as his old man had.

By this point, Arthur wasn't minding this all too much.

In fact, he had accepted this sort of fate.

He did nothing, his cynical side stopped him from contributing his money to a good cause - honestly, Arthur believed that none of it actually went to where it was supposed to - and from there he was contributing nothing to the world other than being yet another rich man lazing about in a big home and accomplishing diddly squat.

At least, Arthur was accepting of this until one summer evening.

It was, in all aspects, an average day. An early rise, an afternoon spent sweeping through the works of Shakespeare and looking over his garden, and now an evening of being lazy in front of the television - but no before going to make himself a cup of tea.

All in all, it was the norm...then as he was setting a kettle onto the stove top a noise came to him, muffled but still near, sounding like it was coming from the backyard. Arthur knew every last solitary sound, every creak and moan this house made, and like any house owner, it was easy for him to tell if someone was breaking into his backyard.

Groaning, Arthur hurriedly flicked the stove top off and stumbled out of the kitchen, sprinting until he made it to the back door. He unlocked it and shoved the sliding door open, squinting out into the darkness. From what he could tell there was a dark figure huddled in near the far left corner of the fence - and Arthur had to admit it was admirable that the being managed to climb over the high boundaries - presumably nabbing at the food in his vegetable garden.

Fantastic.

"Hey! You! Put those back and get the bloody hell out of here before I call the cops!"

The figure turned briefly, exposing the outline of a hoodie, before scrambling back for the fence.

"No you don't," Arthur hissed through his teeth, darting across the lawn without a second thought and successfully coiling his arms around the thief's waist. The stranger let out a strange, strangled sound and flailed wildly, dropping a dirty shopping bag in the process. It thumped to the ground, spilling out an impressive amount of veggies.

Struggling to keep the squirming person in his grasp, Arthur turned the figure and ripped the hood off of their head.

Even with the dim light it was sort of hard to miss the big, fuzzy triangles, nor the fact that there was a feminine face peering up at him. The ears were almost comically large and fell to the side of her head, as if because of their size she couldn't manage holding them properly atop her head; which meant that she was a kitten.

He just caught a hybrid. And a stray one at that.

Three years ago it unfortunately became law that their kind were legally supposed to be kept as pets. It was the same with normal cats and dogs - if there was a stray one without a collar, they would be taken to the pound. Even more unfortunate was the fact that the pound meant for hybrids was no different than the pounds they created for actual animals. From there they would be pawned off to the highest bidder - and it was rare to find someone who owned a hybrid that treated them on an equal level. Or didn't use them for perverse actions.

How this one survived out on the streets, without being caught, as beyond Arthur; Hell, how she survived period was beyond him. She had stopped attempting to escape and was now trembling violently, large glowing eyes (strangely hued violet) staring fearfully at him. From the way his hands were firmly around her upper arms, he could tell that she was a skinny little thing...and had only been trying to get something to eat.

Thoughts raced though Arthur's mind. He could give her some food and water, maybe a blanket or two, and send her on her way, but...those eyes...so fearful, so innocent, so full of a loneliness that he was all too familiar with. He didn't know why, but he was suddenly afraid of what would happen to the kitten if he let her go back into dangerous territory. Groaning again, Arthur tightened his grip on her and pulled her back to his house, frowning at the panicked sounds the girl started to emit.

"Hush. I'm not going to hurt you," he said quietly, hopefully soothingly, tugging her into the back porch so he could have a look at her.

A golden waterfall, horribly tangled and mangled yet still somehow luscious looking, framed her face and fell well past her shoulders, wavy and curling at the ends. A rather queer curl with a little loop in the middle sprung out from the crown of her head.

Arthur decided not to linger on that oddity.

Her skin was frighteningly pale, though sunburned and peeling in a few areas. Eyes a vibrant purple, filled to the brim with distraught, distrust, and that loneliness, ears and fluffy tail the same tone as her hair, skinny as a toothpick, and all-together unclean. She was wearing red shorts and a hoodie, both ripped in various places and covered with muck and filth.

And she wouldn't stop shaking and watching him, gauging to see if he was going to do anything awful to her.

Cautiously, Arthur took one hand off her arm and reached up to brush his fingers against the soft fur of her floppy ear, ignoring how the blonde initially flinched away from him, her expression of fear momentarily turning into a soft, weak glare. He couldn't help but take the time to marvel at how smooth the fur was, despite being lined with black.

His conscious was hitting him hard. He could not possibly allow this little one to go out alone, no matter if she managed to survive up to this point.

"Do...do you have anywhere to go?" Arthur asked abruptly, scratching behind her ear. To his delight, she seemed to lean into his prodding fingers somewhat, and then shook her head.

"Would you like to stay here, poppet?" The question came out with surprising ease. "I'm the only one here and there's a huge selection of rooms you can choose for your own. I'll see to whatever needs you need; clothing, food...I can hide you."

The distrust in the girl's optics slowly faded away, shockingly fast. Arthur could practically see her mulling over this, trying to figure out if this British man she had just tried to steal from not five minutes ago could be trustworthy, if he would really save her in, hiding her from a society who longed to capture her kind, and not send her to the pound immediately or use her for things he shouldn't.

At long last she nodded, odd curl bouncing wildly, the action accompanied by a particularly adorable, "Mew."

"Good!" A bit taken aback by how much he wanted the little blonde to stay, and for her to have agreed to stay, Arthur gently hooked an arm around her's, careful to not frighten the poor thing off. "I'll...show you around the house now, then. As I said before, you can choose any room to your liking."

"Mew."

"Are you capable of speaking, though?"

"Merow."

"...Are you capable of speaking in English?"

"Brrp."

Arthur sighed as he lead the kitten upstairs. With the communication barrier (well, at least she could understand him) this was going to be a long few weeks. With the fact that Arthur took in a kitten without a second thought, without knowing how to properly handle one of them, it was going to be even longer.

* * *

Slowly, ever slowly, he was beginning to learn about her.

Her name was Madeline. From what Arthur could tell from his experience in looking up hybrids during the time where he actually wanted to follow in his Father's footsteps, they had to reach a certain age before they could begin speaking in whatever language came to their breed (there were two exceptions, but Arthur couldn't remember either). He also learned of their breeds by hair colour and eye color, which lead to tell him that Madeline was of the Canadian breed.

The majority of them could at least comprehend English, and thankfully Maddie was one of them.

She could also write. Clumsily, and Arthur didn't know how she learned to, but she still could. When he asked if there was any way he could find out her name - if she had one - the kitten mimed writing down on a piece of paper.

From there she wrote in messy printing, '_MADELINE' _mewling in delight when Arthur praised her for writing and patted the top of her head, not noticing how the Brit grimaced when the feel of muck came onto his fingers. He brought his hand away from her and rubbed his fingers together, watching the dirt rub into his pale flesh.

He then glanced at the proud blonde, scanning over her dirty form.

A bath was in order.

* * *

The second thing he learned about her was that she adopted the cats dislike of water and adopted it hard.

He allowed her the first night to sleep in one of his spare rooms (she chose one eerily close to his bedroom), believing that the Canadian was in desperate need of rest before anything else; and she really did need it. Arthur gave her a pair of shorts and a hoodie, his of course, to wear for the night, coming back into the room after she was finished dressing.

Frazzled, and clouded over with a strange, almost maternal feeling, Arthur sat down on the edge of the bed and talked briefly to her, waiting for her to sleep. That didn't take too long, as a few moments after she curled up underneath the comforter and her head hit the pillow, she was in a dead sleep that Arthur didn't dare wake her from.

The next morning, first thing, he woke her up for a bath. Positively adorable she was, as when she was roused from sleep the Canadian rubbed at her eyes and smiled sleepily up at Arthur, motions that were so childish that there was no way one could not find them wonderfully endearing.

On instinct Arthur scooped her up, snaking his arms underneath his legs so he could hold her bridal style, and set off for the bathroom. He settled her down on the edge of the bath tub, praying to God that she could do the rest herself after the tub was filled, and turned on the tap.

A loud, menacing hiss rounded off from beside him and Arthur turned around just in time to see Madeline's pupils promptly morph down into small pinpricks, her lips peeling back to reveal small but needle-sharp teeth.

In the next second she had bolted out of the door.

With a groan of complete and utter exasperation, Arthur got up and chased after her out into the hallway. "Madeline! Get back here right _now! _You have God knows how many pounds of dirt on you, and you are not going to stay here while in the state you are!"

A defiant mewl fell back to his ears and Arthur sped up his pace, only barely managing to grab the back of Madeline's hoodie, making her cry out in panic as the collar momentarily cut off her wind pipe. However, she got over that quickly and was flailing as if she was already doused in water, spitting and waving her arms about hysterically, claws aimed to hit anything they can.

That episode ended with a pissed, naked Madeline sitting in the bath and being bathed with sponges by an equally pissed Arthur - one bearing a plethora of scratches on his person - who was too much in a tizzy to take any notice in the kitten's nudity - just as the kitten was too much in a tizzy to be embarrassed about it.

All of that would be coming later.

* * *

Weeks passed and Arthur learned more about his new room mate.

And with each new learning of the qualities she possessed, the more Arthur became fond of her.

True to the heritage of her breed, Maddie (a nickname that she didn't seem to mind) adored anything that had to do with maple syrup, especially when it was covering something. One morning, while Arthur was serving eggs and pancakes, he accidentally doused a good pile of syrup onto the eggs as well. Maddie still ate away like it was her last meal.

From what Arthur could tell, she was capable of astoundingly drinking entire bottles.

She also loved the colour red. The room the Canadian picked out had a red comforter and red sheets, and when Arthur put in a lamp with red shading in there on complete whim, she was as happy as can be. All of the hoodies, shirts, and shorts she picked out were some variation of the colour red.

Other experiences came him quick information.

She could be embarrassed and shy very easily. The second time Arthur went to give her another sponge bath, she shook her head and made motions that Arthur figured out meant that she could do it by herself this time. All the while her face went a delicious red, and she wouldn't meet his gaze, her fingers looping together.

She _hated _to be ignored. Detested it.

Whenever Arthur was in the middle of reading, or being enthralled in something riveting on TV, and he didn't pay any attention to her - not even acknowledging her - she either became depressed or angry. Mostly depressed. After he was done whatever he was doing, Arthur would find Maddie up in her room, underneath the covers and staring out at the window expressionlessly.

It always took a while before she was happy again.

Also true to her breed, Madeline loved polar bears. On yet another whim (he had been doing a lot of things on whim lately), while Arthur was out at the grocery store, he spotted a polar bear plushie on a small stand near the bakery section. Without a second thought he picked it up and set it into his cart.

The purchase proved to be a good idea, considering that not long after he was come Arthur took pleasure in watching Maddie roll around on the couch with the polar bear, meowing happily and chewing lazily on the bear's left ear.

Most of all, the kitten found it difficult to trust.

After the first bathing incident, it was weeks before she let Arthur touch her again. He wasn't able to pet her without the Canadian hissing wildly, rising one hand and brandishing her sharp nails in warning. Only two weeks later did Maddie finally come up to him in the living room, crawling on the couch and purring softly, offering her head for his hand.

With each of these learning experiences he was growing closer to her.

Finding a longing to be with her.

For the first time in months he longed to have someone care for him, to have someone he would care for.

He was starting to hope that she was feeling the same.

* * *

By now Arthur believed that it was time to bring Maddie out into the real world.

He learned that it was easy to make a makeshift collar for her, just so she could go outside and not be mistaken for a stray...or a hybrid that had yet to be registered. All Arthur had to do was cut up his belt, using his skills in sewing and the like to make it neat, and clacked it around Maddie, assuring her that it was only temporary.

She understood. At least, he hoped she did.

Arthur buckled her into his car and was off to the grocery store, watching her out of the corner of his eye. The Canadian was astoundingly happy to be outside again...she was apparently more of an outside cat, and Arthur could tell; thus was the reason he brought her out. She was ancy, and for the last three days was bouncing around the house, accidentally breaking priceless item after item.

This would help her calm back down.

"Maddie, stay behind me, alright? And quit playing with your collar. We can't have it coming off or being too loose."

Nodding, Madeline forcefully brought her hands away from the cut belt around her neck and followed a few steps behind Arthur, her wide eyes looking around like she were a little girl entering the entrance to Disneyworld rather than the entrance to a grocery store. Grinning at her reaction, Arthur lead her inside and grabbed a cart, amused that Maddie was so damn impressed by a mere store.

It took him a few minutes after going through the first aisle that he lost her.

Mewls were erupting from her the whole time they were in there, and when they stopped, Arthur thought she was just tired of it. As it turned out, he turned around to look at her, hoping to take in more of her adorable reactions, and saw that she was missing.

"Madeline?" Heart thundering, blood promptly pounding in his ears, Arthur turned around fully, eyes frantically scanning the shelves. Nothing. He was the only one in the aisle.

Oh God. She probably wandered off, but what was going to happen if she did? What if someone decided to take her for their own? What if someone, with concern at first, looked at her collar to see who her owner was and saw that it was a fake - and then decided to take her for their own? She wasn't safe out here alone, he should have held her, or had her have one hand on the cart, or actually think about the fact that it was like having a toddler in a Superstore.

"M-mew."

"Maddie?"

It would have been hilarious that she was huddled up near a display stand, just enough so that someone would have to go straight up to the stand to spot her out. Without any hesitation Arthur swept forward and took her into her arms, picking up the petite girl and holding her close to him, relief swamping his thoughts as he planted kisses over her cheeks and forehead.

"Don't you ever do that again you scared the living daylights out of me," he said frantically, quietly, nearly incoherently, smiling faintly when Maddie licked his cheek in an almost apologetic manner. "Promise me you'll stay near me the next time we go out. You nearly gave me a heart attack, poppet."

He received another lick from her sandpaper-like tongue and Arthur chuckled softly, kissing her forehead again.

This was the first time since he was cheated one that he couldn't contain his feelings.

It felt good to have someone he could show more emotion towards.

* * *

A month and a week had passed since Arthur took Madeline in. He had begun to hole himself up in his office and look through the files his Father wrote about hybrids, wanting to learn as much as he could; such as when kittens were able to find the talent of human speech, if there was any way they could begin talking before they were adults, etc.

To his credit, Mr. Kirkland's information was solid. His company was for awful purposes, but that didn't stop the man from doing his job of looking over what hybrids did in the right manner. According to him, there were few hybrids that, if they grew close enough to a human, would imprint on them...and would eventually come to be their mate.

If they were still a kitten when they mated with the human, their mewls would come out as English to their mate, even though until they were adult the kitten would still technically be speaking through meows. The only other exception was that few kittens were early bloomers, and somehow broke through into English early on in their years, without any explanation.

"Blessed Queen," Arthur grumbled, putting the file down to rub his eyes. "I hope that's it, that her shyness is stopping her from speaking."

Her mewls were too cute to bear, sure, but he would love if he could speak to her through the same language...and there was no way he could pull Madeline out of her world of innocence and connect themselves sexually through the cat version of mating.

Even though Arthur's feelings were budding, blooming with each day.

He was coming to grasps that he might, just might, be starting to fall in lo-

"_Mew! Mer-meow-mew!"_

Freezing briefly, Arthur craned his head over his neck, slowly processing the panicked mewls, coming from right outside his office door. Panic flashing through him, the Brit scrambled up from his chair and opened the door - only to have a Canadian attached directly onto him, mewling helplessly.

Arthur stumbled backwards in surprise, Maddie coming along with him the whole way. He stared down at the top of her head, watching as she buried her face into his chest and placed her hands on either side of her head, delicate fingers curling in the material of Arthur's shirt and clinging as if her life depended on it.

"M-Maddie? Luv, what's wrong? What happened?" Arthur spat out the questions rapid-fire, clumsily yet carefully wrapping his arms back around her skinny, shaking frame. He sucked in a sharp breath when she cuddled closer to him, the sweet smell of maple entrapping him in a lovely cloud, pouring into his senses and coming too close to overwhelming him.

Madeline didn't have to answer, for the air was suddenly thick with tension and the tell-tale sound of a clap of thunder struck into the room, causing Maddie to whimper and grab at Arthur harder.

Thunder storms. This was the first one there had been in a while, the last one in the area having been around long before Maddie came into his home. And from the sounds of it, from that one clap of thunder, this one was going to be a doozy.

Ignoring their close proximity, Arthur ran his palm over the small of her back in soothing, small circles. He should have figured that Madeline would have been afraid of thunderstorms, but with the mild weather they had been experiencing for the last long while, it never happened to cross his mind.

Unfortunately.

Prying Maddie a bit away from him, Arthur murmured, "C'mon, poppet. Let's get you back to your room."

Thankfully she complied without hanging on his leg like a little kid the entire way, Arthur rubbing her back every time there was a strike of thunder or a flash of lightening, his chest tightening every time Maddie jumped in fear. When he made it to her room, he brought the darker of the curtains over the window and settled her into her bed, placing her polar bear plushie beside the Canadian (and ultimately smiling when she instantly grabbed at it and held it to her chest).

"Try to get some rest, luv." Arthur brushed her blonde fringe from her face, amazed at how sinfully soft her skin was. "I'll be back in to check on you later."

He turned to leave, feeling as if he should do more but not knowing what to do. Those maternal feelings he was experiencing were not aiding him in brewing up ideas on how to comfort a kitten during a thunder storm. Perhaps it would be best to allow her to huddle in bed with her stuffed animal -

"Arthur."

The word came out so quiet, so soft that one would have to strain their ears if it wasn't so quiet in that one moment, yet Arthur still gave a violent start. He turned around smartly, staring at the Canadian whom merely stared back at him, appearing blatantly terrified.

"What did you -"

"S-s'il vous plait, don't leave me."

Her voice was so sweet, the tone of a living doll. It was the voice of young woman, laced with the slightest French accent, but still had that child-like quality to it, most likely brought on by the fear coursing through her...however, at the same time he was admiring her voice, he was thanking God that she could speak. She had to be one of those early bloomers he read about.

Letting back the shock of hearing her speak, Arthur came forward and said, "Do you want me to sit with you until you can sleep?"

"Non," Maddie murred, a light splash of pink crawling onto her features. She looked away from him, wrenching her hand around her polar bear's arm. "I...I...w-would you mind lying with me, please?"

Blood drained from Arthur's face, then came back full force in a dark blush, nearly knocking him out with a bout of dizziness. "...W-what?"

"I'm sorry!" Maddie squeaked out after a mewl, burying her face into her stuffie's head. "Y-you don't have to if you don't want to I - I - I just don't like the noises and lights. I need something to hold and Kumarie isn't big enough."

Kumarie. The noises and lights. She spoke like a child. So why was Arthur's mind going into a territory that it shouldn't be treading onto?

Without the consent of his brain, Arthur padded back over to the bed, pulled back the covers and crawled in, having to hold back a groan as Maddie's luscious scent enveloped him. His blush darkened when Maddie snuggled closer to him and wrapped her arms once more around his middle, her face going back into its former position of his chest...the rest of her body molding against his.

This was the worst time for Arthur to notice how big her breasts were, pressed up into his stomach.

"M-Madeline," he stuttered out, awkwardly patting the top of her head, "You have no reason to be scared, dear. Thunder is, as you said, just a noise and it can't hurt you. And the lights, that's lightening. As long as we're inside the house, that can't hurt you either."

A mewl came in response.

Sighing, Arthur went to stroking her head, minding her ears and curl. She felt so warm and soft against him, her shaking slowly dying down as she calmed down. He looked down, noting the way her ears somehow drooped even further than they already were, and was suddenly torn between pinning her down to the bed and squeezing the ever-living life out of the adorable creature.

Instead of doing either options, he went for lifting her head up so he could see her face, her teary eyes. Arthur cupped her cheek in his palm, his thumb absently stroking the area near her lips. This girl...was the first in a while to make him feel. To make him long more for human company. He was lonely before, but he never did anything about it...now he wanted to.

Pressing the tip of his thumb against her lip, he leaned down to kiss her forehead, struck with the desire to press his lips onto every portion of her body...see if her skin was as soft everywhere else as it was on her face and hands and arms.

Emerald meeting down into wide amethyst, he dipped his head further and gently claimed her lips for his own, heart bursting into a heap of constant euphoria when they connected.

He could have died of happiness when she kissed him back.

From there neither of them could understand what was happening. Arthur let out a fury of pent-up lust, the betrayal he was still feeling underneath the surface from the break up with Kiku's twin sister, and all of the emotions he had been harbouring for the Canadian kitten now wriggling underneath him. All went out, and he wasn't afraid to put it into affection for the woman he was now falling for.

They moved slowly at first, Arthur so low that he could hear Maddie's pants directly into his ear, the puffs of air meeting sensitive cartilage driving him up the wall.

Here he learned even more.

Her ears were sensitive to his teeth.

Her breasts were even more sensitive.

She could be loud when under stimulation.

She was a virgin.

They came together in the mold of a locked puzzle as the thunderstorm simmered to an end, the smallest clap of thunder nearly drowning out Madeline's cry of passion, but she broke out through it, throwing her head back against the pillows and and giving off a show that was much more beautiful than any he saw while they were connecting.

As they came together, they fell together, yet Arthur waited, watching Maddie sleep for a long while before doing so himself.

* * *

The next day was somewhat awkward.

The events of the night before brought out that fresh wound, the one that was created when Sakura cheated on him with that unknown man. She had been living with him for a few weeks, and the relationship was going well...in fact, she was like Maddie. Shy, quiet, and polite. But she still went off with another man anyway, leaving without a notice, not even a note saying goodbye.

Now Arthur was listless. What if Maddie decided to leave him? What if she found someone else on one of their outings, found someone that she would rather be mated with? Hell, last night they didn't properly mate. In his Dad's files there was something about biting to fully complete the mating process.

Somehow, even without this, Maddie knew what was wrong with him.

"A-Arthur, please come out," she pleaded softly, rapping her knuckles against his office door. "I-I'm sorry about last night, if you regretted it."

"I didn't," Arthur responded through the door, eyes hooded. "I don't regret what we did. I'm afraid that you're going to leave now if we start up a relationship. I can't trust you."

"I trusted you. You're a human...you could have used me for personal purposes, but instead you treated me like a human being rather than a hybrid. If I can trust you with my life, why can't you trust me with this?"

Arthur had no answer for that.

* * *

"Leave."

"W-what? Arthur why-"

"Maddie, leave. If you don't hurt me, I'm going to hurt you. I packed some food, water, clothes, and a blanket for you. It'll keep you going for a month or two."

"You're already hurting me by trying to make me leave! I'm not going to leave you like this Arthur. I have no intention of ever leaving you. I want to be with you -

"_Leave!"_

She was gone within the next few seconds.

* * *

Three more months passed and even with that amount of time Arthur had no clue why he did what he did. He was finally going to be in a good relationship and he pushed her away...he placed a kitten back into the streets against her own will, only because he was afraid that one of them were going to betray each other and he was going to have to go through the same thing.

Where she could be dead by now.

Blankly, Arthur took a swig of some strong whiskey, staring out of the kitchen window. She hadn't come back, which gave him reason to either believe that she left town, was dead, or was captured by the government and was in ownership of someone else.

Sighing, Arthur went to take another chug of alcohol when he heard a noise.

From his backyard.

Heart jumping into his throat, Arthur stumbled drunkenly out into the hallway and to the backyard...there he saw a familiar figure scrambling over his fence and gracefully plunking down to the ground. The person took off their hoodie, raised their head, and two violet orbs were staring directly at him.

Clumsily opening the door, Arthur went ungracefully outside, meeting the kitten halfway into a hug. She tackled him to the ground, purring and mewling and rubbing her head against his chest. Arthur, feeling like crying out of happiness, clutched her tightly and kissed her twitching ears, chuckling when they flickered against his nose.

"Why were you gone for so long?" Arthur croaked against her ear, running a hand through her tangled hair.

"To show you how stupid you were being," Maddie answered, sounding as tearful as Arthur felt. "I-I need to be around you Arthur. It took so much will power to stay out for that long, but I needed to show you that you needed to be around me too. I would have been away longer, but...I needed you."

She then did start to cry, tears trailing down her pale, dirty cheeks and Arthur held her tighter, taking in as much as the essence of maple in her scent as possible. He did need her. She was the only person who made him feel like a human being...who just made him feel.

He wanted to see her happy again, see her sad, angry, have them argue, go through the dances that couples went through...he just wanted to stay within her presence.

"I'm so sorry," he said, curling the kitten up on top of him. "I'm so sorry. I'll trust you. I know to trust you. I love you so much, Madeline."

"I love you too."

Cradling her gently, Arthur murmured soft words to her, rocking her carefully as the both of them did nothing more than enjoy each other's company.

As they would for a while.

Arthur would be true to his word.

He was going to keep his absolute trust in her.

And knowing the kitten...it was going to be something he wasn't going to regret.

* * *

Holy fuck. I kept seeing the word count going through the thousands and yet I still couldn't stop. This was the longest one-shot I've ever written...and for that I really hope that it didn't seem like it was just lagging on and on and on.

I tried to make something similar to Seven Week to Love You...though this was obviously a lot more from Arthur's POV, which I wanted it to be. I hope it didn't seem that rushed - Arthur and Maddie's relationship that is, for it seemed to really be to me - and I hope everyone likes it.

Reviews would seriously be welcomed.


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